Coming Back To You
by 1upHero
Summary: Sequel to Situations. Naruto returns from his adventure to attend Sasuke and Sakura's wedding. Naruto x Ino x Sai and others. Bad summary. Please Read and Review.
1. Chapter 1

I don't exactly know what it was, but I felt I had to write more of this story line. So this begins story 2 named Smile For Them, I would suggest reading the prequel to this called Situations if you haven't already. Hope you like it and please read and review…I need it .

**Like last time I didn't have a chance to have someone review this, I;ve gone over it a few times and like looks alright, so give it a chance even with the grammar mistakes.( Anyone wanna review help review these for me? )**

Couples for now are still the same (KibaHina, InoSai, SasuSaku, NejiTen). If you don't like these couples please still give my story a fighting chance.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Italic/Bold - Memories or thoughts

Summary: With things finally coming to an end, Naruto made his decision and left Konoha in search of some peace and maybe to find himself. It has been months since he left and now he receives another life changing message.

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**Chapter 1: Harder Than You Know.**

The small frog sat in front of him, smiling. Naruto wished he hadn't come with this news, he felt as if a change was finally washing over him, taking away the regret and the deep rooted feelings of "her". It had been what felt like months since he last left his friends at the High Heaven Inn, Konoha, and everyone else he knew to find a part of himself. A hole which felt like it would never close.

"So Naruto, what are you going to do?" Gamakichi said

"I don't know." he grumbled "I knew it was a bad idea to stay in contact with them."

The frog laughed. "I can't believe you, how can you say that after all the trouble they went through to try find you? I'm honestly shocked you haven't gone back yet, but I'm glad you kept in contact. You think they told anyone?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, they finally have me on somewhat speaking terms, it seems they took me seriously when I said I would permanently stay out of contact if they tried to look for me again."

Gamakichi laughed. "Kakashi's dogs are top class. If he really wanted to find you, he would have."

"Yeah I know" Naruto sighed. "So…tell me." Naruto placed the frog on his hands and moved him closer. "What do you think I should do?"

"Go home."

"…really?"

"I'm not saying you have to stay there. You're a man now; you can make decisions like this on your own. All I'm saying is you should be in Konoha for this."

Naruto sat there quietly with the frog still in his hands. After a few minutes of thinking Naruto stood and grabbed his gear. "Ok then…show me the way Gamakichi."

Smiling, he made a fast paced run north. _**"You may not like this Naruto… but this is training for life and I haven't seen you run yet…and I refuse too."**_ Gamakichi said to himself.

Before Naruto knew it the land around him was becoming very familiar, an uneasy feeling filled Naruto. Gamakichi could sense his friend's feelings, but there was nothing more he could really say. Slowing down to a steady walk, Naruto stopped near the gates. It was sunset and Naruto smiled for the first time in a while, soon it would be night and he could make his way to his house easily.

"What's with the smile?" Gamakichi asked.

"Hmm? I was just thinking about crashing in my own bed, I can't wait."

The frog laughed. "Go get some rest Naruto; we'll go see the Hokage tomorrow. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you." He disappeared into the air.

Naruto continued his slow walk into Konoha; he knew Tsunade would be informed of his presence as soon as possible, it couldn't be helped. A man with white tape across his face appeared next to him, he put his hand on Naruto shoulder.

"So you've returned Naruto? Everyone has been worried sick; Tsunade hasn't been the same since you've been gone."

"I'm sure…" Naruto smiled "Hey Kotetsu…" the man looked at him "Do me a favor. I know you have to report this to Tsunade, but try to keep this discreet, she'll want to see to as soon as possible, so please inform her I'll see her tomorrow morning. Please?"

He smiled "Yeah, I'll see what I can do."

Naruto smiled back as he ran off "I owe you one."

Naruto began to run faster trying to make it to his apartment without drawing to much attention, thankfully the sun had already set and darkness was working its way over the town. Finally reaching his front door he checked around to see if anyone followed him. Slowly he unlocked his front door expecting to see his apartment smelly and dusty, but walked into a freshly clean home. He was a little taken back by it. "Who the hell has been in my apartment?" A loud bang caught Naruto's ears, he slowly stepped toward his bedroom, sounds of foot steps and rustling of clothes could be heard. Naruto clenched his fist ready to attack. With a light kick Naruto kicked him his door and jumped in. "Whose in here!?" Naruto's eyes shot open "Ah!" Naruto yelled.

"N-Naruto!?"Sakura pulled the towel closer to her body.

Naruto turned around blushing furiously "S-Sakura! Why are you showering in my house?!"

"Get out you dummy!" she threw a shoe at his head as he quickly made his way out the door.

"Jesus!" he rubbed the back of his head. "That hurt you know" well not really, but still. "So do you want to explain all of this?"

"All of what?" she yelled from behind the door.

"Well for starters you're half naked in my bedroom and my house is spotless."

The bedroom door swung open as Sakura walked out."We've been keeping your house clean for you while you were gone. I got dirty and decided to take a shower, this wouldn't be the first time." She pulled Naruto into a hug. "I'm glad to see you again, to be honest I wasn't sure when you would return. I was happy you still stayed in touch."

"Yeah, well, if you guys wanted me you would have got me, I appreciate you guys giving me my space. I hope Tsunade and yourself are still the only two that know of our talks."

Sakura smiled "Of course." she pulled away "Come on, I'll make us some tea"

Naruto sat down at his table, he knew talks of _her _were coming up soon. "Oh, before I forget, congratulations."

She turned and smiled. "Thank you, that's why I'm sure it's why you came back, so I really appreciate it. I'm sure Sasuke will be too."

"Naw, you make it sound like it was a problem. You guys are getting married, no one could keep me away. I'm going to be the best man right?"

Sakura laughed as she handed Naruto his tea cup. She sat down and pushed her hair out of her face. "Obviously, Sasuke wouldn't have it any other way."

Naruto smiled "So if I'm the best man, that can only mean one thing...she's your maid of honor...isn't she."

Sakura sighed "I knew there was no way to escape this." she sipped from her teacup. Naruto could see the worry in her eyes, she was planning her words carefully.

"Look, Sakura it's ok. Just tell me already."

"Yes, Ino is my maid of honor, Hinata, Ten Ten and Temari are also in the party. Sasuke has you, Kiba and..." She took another sip.

"Oh come on." she remained silent. "It's Sai isn't it? Well...this should be interesting." Naruto ran his fingers through his hair. "It's alright...I'm fine with it." he took a few gulps from his cup.

"I'm sorry it's all my fault. One night at dinner, the night we announced our engagement, Ino made a joke about how Sai should be the best man and I had a few drinks so I tried to convince him in front of everyone. After a bit of whining he agreed to let Sai be in the party along with Ino, but he made it very clear that you were going to be his best man. _**"The only person I want to be my best man is Naruto, to be honest I don't care if any of you disagree."**_ He said to them."

Naruto smiled "That's Sasuke for you."

Sakura stood up as she checked her watch. "I'm sorry to cut this short but it's getting late."

Naruto nodded "Yeah, I need some sleep in a bed for once. I'll be stopping by Tsunade's office in the morning, you going to be around?"

"I should but who knows what she has planned for me." Sakura waved as she made her way out of my apartment. Putting the cups in the sink I made my way to my bed. Yawning, he fell face first into my bed. But even in sleep thoughts of her plagued his dreams.

"_**I'm going away Ino, I have to find myself and I'm sure the answers I need are somewhere out there. You can hate me after for this but…I want to say goodbye my way..." **_he stirred in his sleep _**"I'm going to be Hokage one day…so don't forget about me…"**_...

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to be continued...

Well that's chapter 1 for you, hoped you enjoyed it. and as always please review.

-1up


	2. Chapter 2

So here's chapter 2, sorry for the long no-post, a lot of things came up.

Read and Review if you get a chance.

Here's chapter 2, hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer - I don't own Naruto

Bold and Italics = Thoughts/Flashback etc.

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Chapter 2: Standing Still

_**"Ino don't leave me..." Naruto pleaded. Ino said nothing and continued to get dressed with that solemn look on her face. Naruto jerked back and forth but to his dismay he couldn't move. "Ino, why can't I move?! Where are you going? You can't leave me here...I need you..." Ino started to make her way out his home. "Are you even listening to me?! Ino I love you!"**_

_**"Goodbye Naruto" she slammed the door behind her shattering the room around him. Naruto fell into the darkness.  
**_  
"NO!" Naruto yelled as he shot up from his bed. "Christ...it was just a dream" he wiped away a tear with his hand. "Ino...you'd laugh if you could see me now..."

Slowly Naruto got out of bed and made his way into his kitchen, only to see Sakura trying to make her way out of the front door.

"Hey? What's up?" Naruto called to her, he needed her here, especially after the dream he just had."Why are you here so early?"

Sakura turned around and grinned "I was planning on making you breakfast before we headed to the Hokage's office, but I heard you yelling...so I tried to make my way out quietly." Sakura frowned as she saw the tear streak on his cheek. She walked over and pulled him into a hug. "Are you alright Naruto? I...I heard you yelling her name..."

Naruto shook his head "I don't know...I thought I was over her. When I was out there…my thoughts drifted to you guys from time to time…but Ino plagued my mind. It was only until; I guess about a month or so ago that I began to think of her less and less. That dream though...it was unreal, it's the first time I've had a dream so vivid. I'm sorry you had to hear it."

Sakura shook her head. "It's alright, let's just forget about it. Still want breakfast?"

Naruto smiled "Definitely."

He followed Sakura into the kitchen and sat down at his table like he did the day before, as she began to cook. He began to tap his finger against the table as his mind raced. He wanted, no, **HAD** to know more about Ino. How was she? Did she ever talk about him? Was she still with Sai? He shook his head to rid himself of these thoughts. Just thinking of them together made his stomach turn.

"So...how is she?'

"Who?"

"Sakura, come on."

She sighed. "She's good, she's been running around with me these past months getting everything ready for the wedding. I think she's more excited than I am."Sakura paused. "She has been in a bit of a slump lately, she… ruined a bunch of flowers at her shop, something about cutting them wrong, she was crying when she was trying to explain this to me, so I don't understand it myself. Beyond that I guess everything is fine."

"Ruined flowers, huh?" Something seemed strange about that, but Naruto couldn't put his finger on it. Ino was a pro at being a florist; it was her life's work, why would she or what made her, do something careless like that? Naruto felt Sakura wasn't being completely honest with him, but what would she gain by lying to him? Naruto shrugged. "Good to hear...I guess."

"I know what you're thinking Naruto…and yes, she asked about you a few times."

"That's funny. Why would she ask you how I was? Up until recently, everyone thought I was out of contact...which can only mean you told her, didn't you?"

Sakura dropped the spatchula; it was now obvious she had said too much. "I'm sorry." She put his plate in front of him. "It slipped one day while we were talking..."

"So does she know I'm here?"

"No, I haven't told her. To be honest I haven't told anyone, Sasuke being the only exception."

"Wonderful…"

"Do…do you plan on seeing her?"

"I don't know. I try to think about, but my mind goes numb, I can't think of anything and I end up frustrated and confused. What do you think I should do?"

"Really, I don't know either. I don't know how she'll act. The thing is she's my maid of honor and the wedding rehearsals are tonight, so you're going to see her one way or another today. Which, by the way, is another reason I wanted to make you breakfast. Rehearsals start this afternoon at the church, don't be late."

Naruto became frustrated "Ugh!" He stood up and began to walk to his room. "I'm gonna get ready so we can go."

Sakura sighed as she continued to eat. "Stop overreacting Naruto, it won't be as bad as you think."

"Bullshit…" he said to himself.

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Getting to Hokage Tower was harder than Naruto predicted. Even though he convinced Sakura to move as fast as they could, they were still stopped along the way by fellow villagers happy to see Naruto safe and sound. Within seconds of stepping into the tower Shizune came over running and hugged Naruto. _**Please God, no more hugs...**_

"Naruto I can't believe you've finally arrived! It's so good to see you!" Naruto laughed "Tsunade is waiting for you, come with me." Naruto and Sakura followed Shizune to Tsunades office. Shizune knocked lightly on the door."Master Tsunade, Naruto and Sakura are here to see you"

"Well send them in already." she yelled back.

"I've got some errands to run, but I'll see you two around" Sakura smiled and walked in. Shizune leaned in and kissed Naruto on the cheek. "I'm glad you back safe...If you got some free time and wanna catch up, stop by see me" she winked as she walked away. Naruto began to blush from Shizune's sudden display of affection. He knew what she was aiming at, hell anyone would, but she was no Ino, and having meaningless sex with her wasn't going to help anything...right now atleast. Naruto walked through the door smiling. _**"Time to put on the ole game face."**_

"You miss me Granny?"

"Naruto please..." pleaded Sakura

Tsunade laughed "Everyday brat" she got up and hugged Naruto. _**Okay, no more after this one...**_"I know this is rude but Shizune just brought me enough paperwork for two days. Mind if we catch up later? I'll see you at the wedding rehearsal. Sakura, I know you're still on leave, but could you keep an eye on Naruto for me?" Tsunade smiled as she sat down and began her paperwork.

"Of course, thank you Master Tsunade. Naruto lets go get some ramen, my treat" she smiled.

"How can I say no?" he replied. "Later Granny."

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"I can't believe that girl!"Naruto yelled angrily as he made his way into his house. To his surprise, another guest was waiting for him. The raven haired man sat on his couch with his legs crossed and resting his head on his hand. "And here I thought I was going to be waiting here forever."

"Shouldn't you be at the church?"

"I heard you got in last night" _**Sakura, you can't keep anything to yourself, can you?**_ "I suppose you were going to make a surprise appearance tonight?" Sasuke got up and walked up to Naruto.

Naruto took a step back. "You're not going to hug me are you?"

Sasuke gave him a quizzical look. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Naruto gave a sigh of relief. "Nevermind."

Sasuke put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm glad you came back, you're the only person I wanted as my best man."

Naruto laughed. "Geez what happened to you while I was gone? This doesn't sound like you at all."

Sasuke turned around and made his way to Naruto's window. "Whatever..."

Naruto continued to laugh. "Sasuke relax, I'm just kidding around. Look, I'll change and we'll over to the church, okay?" He left his friend in the living room and made his way to his bedroom.

"What you're wearing is fine, it's only a rehearsal."

"Yeah I know, but still."

Naruto could hear Sasuke chuckle. "Oh I get it, you're getting all prettied up for-"

"Wrong!" he yelled from his room, cutting his friend off. "That's not it at all, why would I do anything for that annoying brat."

Sasuke flashed a small grin as he chuckled. "Whatever you say, just hurry up dummy."

Naruto walked back into the living room. "Okay, let's go."

Naruto walked next to Sasuke quietly with his hands in his pockets. Nervousness swallowed him as the church came into sight, Naruto kept his head down. He hated this situation, if he only ignored the message from Sakura about that wedding he wouldn't be walking straight into the worst situation ever. He didn't care about Ino being there, after what happened earlier he could care less about her. As for everyone else, Naruto was still unsure where he stood with everyone. The last he saw of them they were in good spirits and as far as he knew, were still in the dark about his incident at the wedding. Time had passed though, someone had to have spoke of it, what other way could they explain my sudden absence? Sasukes voice broke his thoughts.

"So, are you gonna tell me or what?" he said.

"I don't understand."

Sasuke chuckled. "Of course you don't dummy." He stopped and grabbed Naruto's shoulder. "What's your problem? There's definitely something wrong with you. Spill it."

Naruto sighed. "Am I that obvious?" he walked over to a near by bench. "It started when Sakura treated me to lunch."

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_**Naruto smiled as he sat down at the table. "I haven't had ramen in soooo long, thanks again Sakura!"**_

_**Sakura lightly giggled. "Not a problem, besides I haven't had ramen since you left."**_

_**Naruto cleared his throat. "I was thinking about what Tsunade said, you don't have to babysit me all day. I'm sure you're swamped with wedding things."**_

_**She smiled. "I wasn't going to, but thanks." Sakura took a deep breath. "As for the wedding you're right, I'm still swamped with what feels like a million things still left to do. I'm suppose to meet up with Ino later and decide on a few more details. I don't know what I would do without her, Hinata and Ten Ten."**_

_**Naruto tapped hid fingers against the wood. "Listen Sakura…about Ino…I"**_

"_**So here you…are…" the feminine voice said behind him.**_

_**Naruto froze, he could feel her cerulean eyes search him, proving to herself that she wasn't imagining this. He looked at Sakura and saw the awkward look in her eyes, this was something that was going to happen at some point tonight, but Naruto was sure that the two hoped it would have gone differently. Finally Sakura broke the silence.**_

"_**Ino! Hi!" Sakura yelled nervously. "What are you doing here?" she was desperately trying to make this situation better…Naruto gave her points for trying.**_

"_**Sakura…it's alright…" Seeing Naruto smile made her relax. Slowly Naruto got up and looked deep into Ino's eyes. "Um..Hey Ino… It's been a while"**_

"_**You." Ino said as she stood there. "What are you doing here?"**_

"_**We'll hi to you too." He said sarcastically. **_

_**Sakura sighed "Oh god…"**_

"_**Sorry, but just saying "Hey Ino, no long time no see" isn't good enough!" Ino yelled.**_

"_**Okay first off, I never said "Long time no see", and two, what exactly should I say?"**_

"_**Oh! Let's see, how about "Ino I'm sorry for being a jerk and leaving! Or even "Ino, I never meant to hurt you, and I'm back to apologize!"**_

"_**Wow. Do you even hear yourself? Why should I apologize to you? What have I done to you to make me want to apologize? And don't say it's because we kissed."**_

"_**Naruto, Ino…please, not here." Sakura pleaded to her friends.**_

"_**Sorry Sakura, but this idiot needs to know he can't just waltz right back into our lives and think everything is going to be ok! And if my memory is right, which it is, you kissed ME, TWICE to be correct."**_

"_**If you think a little harder sweetheart you'll seem to remember we did a lot more than kiss." Ino and Sakura blushed from Naruto announcing their sex life aloud. Naruto on the other hand didn't care, he was worked up now." If MY memory serves me right, this whole thing started with YOU coming to ME. I guess I should be mad at Shikamaru for dumping you off on me." Naruto felt his mind scream at him. He went way too far and he knew it. Hell, the looks on Ino and Sakura's faces were of ones he has never seen before. He had to get out of this. Fast. "You want to truth Ino? I came back for the wedding, NOT for you…" Naruto took out his wallet and threw down some money. "Sorry for ruining lunch Sakura, but I think it's time I left."**_

_**She nodded her head. "Okay, just um, please be on time for the rehearsals."**_

_**He grinned. "I will…I'm only going for a walk, I promise I won't run away" Naruto exited the shop.**_

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Sasuke shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you said that too her. Don't get me wrong, I'm not surprised you managed to be back for no more than twenty four hours and have already found a way to put yourself in, yet again, another stupid situation."

"You don't think I know this?! I never meant to cause any sort of problems while I was here. God I can't believe I said those things to her… How the hell am I supposed to fix this?"

Sasuke gave out a light chuckle. "I don't know what to tell you, I really don't." He continued on their walk. "Besides what else can I say? I've warned you plenty of times." He sighed. "You're an idiot, you know that?"

"Among other things, yes." Naruto replied.

Naruto could feel his hands begin to shake as they drew closer to the church, and it was taking everything in him to NOT run away. Besides, even if he did run, he knew Sasuke would be on him and would do nothing less than hog tie him and carry him into the church. He laughed at how pathetic he sounded. He promised himself a long time ago that he wouldn't be this weak…this vulnerable, again.

"Don't even think about it." Sasuke said.

"What do you mean?" replied Naruto.

"If you run, I'll kill you. Sakura made me promise to bring you, by any means. Don't test me" Sasuke smiled.

Naruto sighed. "Damnit."

Once again the two were at a stand still. Naruto stared at the church doors and thought back to the last time he was here, and like then Ino flooded his mind,_** "Damn that girl, why couldn't this be easy" **_Naruto said to himself. He couldn't believe that a place of love and happiness has brought him nothing but a beaten heart and bruised face. He sighed in frustration.

"Alright. Let's do it."

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And that's chapter 2. Sorry again that it took waaaaaay to long but it is what it is. Until chapter 3.

1 up


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning! – Just to let everyone know I threw in some vulgar language. Which I guess would throw this chapter into the M category. Swearing doesn't bother me, but that's me. What do you guys think?**

**I don't always have someone to read over this, so if my grammar/punctuation/spelling/whatever is off, sorry. Please Review after reading, good or bad I really like to know, so please spend a few seconds telling me what you think. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing**

**Bold Italics = Thoughts/Memories/**

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**Chapter 3: Please don't think it was easy…**

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Naruto's palms began to sweat as he stood quietly in the back of the church _**"You can do this Naruto! These are your friends...right? Of course they are!...still...I hope"**_ he said to himself, trying to calm his racing heart, which obviously wasn't working. He wasn't scared of what they would think of him with his past indiscretions with Ino or when he just suddenly up and disappeared from the Inn a couple months back. In all honesty he didn't really care about that right now; all he was focused on was Ino. He was more than positive he was living his last hours...

Sasuke saw the nervousness in his friends face. "Would you calm down already? You don't have to worry about them finding out." He took a long pause. "They already know everything. Sakura finally gave up on the lie and came out with everything. They were shocked at first, but they got over it just as fast."Naruto gripped Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke swatted it away."For the past few months, all Sakura and I have been asked is if you would be coming back for wedding. Did you really expect them to hate you for this?"

"I.." Naruto relaxed a bit. "I don't know what I was expecting from them. I just took the worst possible situation and went with it. I did think about it."

Sasuke smiled. "You? Not think about something before jumping into it? Doesn't sound like you at all…"

Naruto sighed. He walked right into that one."Screw you…" they went silent.

"Look, you're already here, there's no point in running away from them now."

"I'm not running anywhere." Naruto took a deep breath. "It's not them I'm worried about…"

Sasuke smirked. "I see. Well then, if she beats you up too hard, I'll have Sakura get her off of you." Naruto glared at him in response. "What you said to her was cruel, but to anyone who knows you, they wouldn't believe you would enjoy seeing her cry for fun. To be honest I was expecting to hear about a war after the first encounter."

Naruto was shocked. "So you guys thought it would be better for us to meet again in a church? Do you remember what happened last time I was at a church?!" He whispered loudly.

Sasuke chuckled lightly. "Ino knows how important this wedding is to Sakura. She won't ruin any part of this, as stubborn as she is, she won't do it…you know this." Sasuke continued to walk toward the front where everyone sat waiting. Naruto put his game face on; he couldn't allow anyone to see how he really felt. Sasuke walked up behind Sakura and gave her a hug.

"Sorry we're late." Sasuke said.

"No problem, I'm just glad the two of you are here."

The priest cleared his throat. "So is this the best man we've been waiting for?"

"I am, thank you for waiting for me." Everyone turned around to see Naruto standing in the middle of the isle. He smiled back at them as he walked up and sat down with the bride and groom.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me...I 'm glad I'm here, I want to be here."He responded with a smile. Naruto turned around when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Glad you came back man, I wasn't sure if you would." Kiba said grinning. "After this, the guys were thinking about getting together and having a few drinks, you in?"

Naruto chuckled. "That's the best thing I've heard all day." He turned and smile at Hinata. "Hey stranger, it's been a while."

Hinata smiled back. "Mmm. I-I'm glad you came back for the wedding, it wouldn't have been the same without you."

"Let's just hope you don't get punched in the face this time." Kiba lightly chuckled. Hinata threw her hands over his mouth.

"K-Kiba!…sorry Naruto."

He grinned. "Yeah, maybe."

Sakura leaned over and whispered into Naruto's ear. "We need to have a talk."

"About what?" He whispered back.

"Ino."

"Screw her, what do more do I need say about that b-."

Sakura "lightly" punched his arm before he could finish. Naruto bit his lip to prevent him from screaming. "What is with you!?" he whispered loudly.

"That's exactly what I want to talk about you big jerk." Sakura turned her attention to the priest who, thankfully, was finishing up. As everyone got up to leave Sakura stood up and spoke. "We're having a little get together at Konstantine Bar in a few hours. Come if you can, we would love it if all of you could make it." Sakura walked up to Ino and whispered in her ear. Ino nodded as she gave Naruto an icy glare. Naruto kept a straight face but stared right back at her. Sakura waved her hand over as she began to walk down the isle.

Naruto looked at Sasuke for help, hoping, as crazy as it sounded, for this one moment he could read his mind. _**"Dude help me."**_

Sasuke smiled in response. _"__**You got yourself into this…"**_

Naruto grunted_**."Jerk…"**_

Slowly he made his way past his friends and followed Sakura and Ino into the brides' dressing room. She pointed to two chairs sitting across from each other, for us to sit in. She locked the door as soon as we sat down. Naruto looked over at Ino , yet again, hoping someone could read his mind. **"Crap…I think she's pissed. She's going to kill us isn't she?"**

She shrugged. Naruto sighed **"I'll take that as a maybe…"** Sakura slowly began to walk toward them**."Oh God…".**

"Shake hands." Her voice rang through Naruto's head, snapping the conversation he was having inside his head. "Seriously, right now. I want you two to shake hands."

"You're not serious are you!?" Ino yelled. "Why would I shake that morons hand!?"

"I know right? Who knows what I might catch from her!" Naruto responded. _**"Why can't I stop saying stupid things?!And why am I responding like an 8 year old? A cootie response of all things…what the hell is wrong with me?"**__ Naruto yelled to himself._ Ino clinched her fist.

"Enough!" Sakura yelled. "I have had it up to here with you two! Always fighting and trying to pick away at each other! Knock it off!" Sakura began to tear up._**"Oh god I'm making her cry…"**_Naruto said to himself. "Is it so hard to ask for just one week of peace with you two? All I want is both my best friends to happy with each other so I can have an enjoyable wedding. I can't believe how selfish the two of you are acting…"

Naruto walked over to Sakura and hugged her. "You right…I've been nothing but a nuisance to you since my return… "He let her go and crouched in front of Ino's chair. "Hit me."

Ino was taken back. "W-what are you doing…?"

"Please hit me Ino. Slap, Punch , Kick…whatever" Naruto closed his eyes. "There are…SO many things I want to say to you…and yet all I seemed to do is apologies or insult you. For the rest of wedding I promise to not be such a huge jerk to you. Truce?"

Ino shock her head. "W-we can just shake hands…I don't have to hit you, you know."

"Yes…you do. It's not a secret that you're bull head and easily angered, but I said some bad things and purposely egged you on." Naruto stared deep into eyes. He began to blush. "Look just do it already would you?" trying to break the awkwardness .

Ino lightly tapped him on the cheek. "Truce."She ran over to Sakura and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch Hun."

"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to break down like this infront of you guys." Sakura fixed herself. " But is this serious? Are you two really going to start being nice to each other? Don't get me wrong, this is exactly what I want but…it just seems a little too easy is all."

Naruto and Ino looked at each other for a moment. Seeing if what the other said was really true. They smiled at each other. "Yeah. It serious." Naruto said. "There's a lot of things that need to be said…and one day soon we'll work towards saying them."

"How about we start tonight?" Ino replied.

"Uh, yeah sure. Just umm…how?" Naruto was lost for words.

"How about we have some ramen before we go to the bar?"

"You hate ramen Ino." _**Atleast that's what she told me….**_

"Not as much as I let you believe…besides I kinda ruined your lunch with Sakura that day so…take this as me making it up to you."

Naruto was taken back. Was Ino really asking him out to ramen? He must be dead, Sakura must have punched him to death and he didn't se it coming. He pinched his cheek. "Ow…". It was real alright. "That sounds great Ino… you wanna go right now?"

The girls giggled. "You hungry right now?"

Naruto blushed a little out of embarrassment. "W-well no not re-" His stomach grumbled loudly. The girls were now laughing. "Very…"

Ino walked over and unlocked the door. "See at the bar later Sakura." She turned toward Naruto. "Coming?"

"Yeah…one sec…I uh, just need to to talk to Sakura for a sec."

"OK, I'll be waiting for you outside." Ino left.

"So what do you think Sakura? Think it's real?"

"What ?" she replied very confused.

"I'm talking about Ino. I can't explain it…but it I feel almost…anxious maybe? Whatever it is my stomach isn't sitting right."

"Yes. I do."

Naruto sighed. "Alright. If you say so." Naruto and Sakura made their way out of the church.

Ino came up to them smiling. "Let's go."

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Naruto quickened his pace as he drew closer to the bar. He needed a drink, bad, more than he's ever needed before. Her words still rang through his head. _**"We can't be lovers anymore…", "Being friends is going to be difficult, lets be honest…", "I'm a whole new Ino…I refuse to go back to the old me, not for you…not for anyone."**_. Naruto shook his head. "_**God damn Ino…". **_Just like he did earlier at the church, Naruto stood out the bar, shaking out his nerves and trying to put himself in a better mood. Walking into the bar a waitress was there to show him to the private room they had setup for the occasion.  
Naruto sat down next to Kiba who was sitting alone at the bar.

"What's up?" He asked Kiba.

"Nothing, just drinking."

"Yeah, by yourself. Why aren't you over there with everyone else?"

"What's with the god damn questions Naruto?"

"What can I get you sir?" the bartender asked Naruto.

"Heineken please." He replied. "Sorry man, got a little to nosey there." The bartender gave Naruto his order. "I'll leave you to think."

As soon as Naruto got up Kiba grabbed his arm.

"I…I'm thinking…" He took a deep breath "I'm thinking about asking Hinata to marry me." he drank some of his beer. "All this talk of marriage and weddings got me thinking. She's the one for me..." Kiba began to blush.

Naruto smiled as he sat down. "Really?!"

"You seem more excited about it than I do."

" He laughed as he took a sip of his own beer. "I'm happy for you. She's something else, you won't find anyone else like her in the world." Naruto lightly sighed. Everyone was getting married, and this made him feel like a child again, always being left behind...the last to accomplish something great. He needed a life change quick, he talked about it but never felt like following through and now it caught up to him. Almost 20 years old and comparatively has made no real progress in his personal life." So when are you gonna pop the question?"

"I dunno. Not for a while atleast, I don't want to ruin Sakura and Sasuke's moment..."

"And?"

Kiba sighed. "And I'm scared shitless."

Naruto laughed. "Hell, we all would be...I still don't know how Sai and Sasuke… did it." and that's when it hit him. He's been so worried about Ino and upsetting Sakura that he forgot all about Sai, infect he hasn't seen him at all. "Where's Sai?" Naruto looked around the bar.

"What?"

"Sai. He isn't here. He wasn't at the church either, where is he?"

"No one told you? He left a few days before you arrived. Something about a power struggle in ROOT and went to go investigate...plus..." Kiba looked nervous.

"What? What is it?"

"Plus he and Ino split."

Naruto almost dropped his drink in shock. "Whoa whoa, wait a minute! They split up?! Why?". _**"A whole new Ino!…This is what she was talking about. Did she know what I was thinking before I did?"**_

"Jesus, calm down already, you don't need to yell." Kiba finished off the last of his beer. "From what I hear it was a mutual thing. I never saw them argue or even disagree with each other, Hinata said they had a few problems at home and they fell apart. Now, here's the part where to have to NOT be Naruto. This is only what I've heard, it may not be true at all, so don't go and make a stupid move."

"Oh? And what sort of "move" would I be pulling?"

"Come on man, I saw that little twinkle in your eye when I said they split." Kiba patted Naruto on the back. "One more on me and then we rejoin the guys."

From there the world was mostly a blur, filled with spots of random memories and a ton of blackouts.

Somehow in his alcoholic stupor, Naruto "gracefully" stood up on a table to make an announcement. "O-Okay…ever-everyBODY! Listen…to me." He waved his hand around to make sure he was seen. "Kiba and I…have uh, come up with a great…shit what was it again? A PLAN! Right a plan…For the bride…errr… groom, from me" he pointed to himself. "The best man..." Naruto's legs began to shake. "To…..MORROW…we're gonna- AHH!"Naruto yelled as the table violently tipped over. Naruto could feel himself slip into another blackout.

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The next day Naruto was awoken to someone shaking his leg. "Jesus you sleep like a log. Wake up!"

"Kiba? " he sat up and rubbed his eyes. He held his head as his hangover kicked in. "What do you want?"

"Come on, get up. We're leaving soon."

"What are you talking about? I'm not going anywhere." Naruto laid back down and rolled over.

"Were you so hammered last night, that you don't even remember you're little act?" Kiba pulled his blankets off of him.

Naruto replied in frustration. "I don't remember a damn thing Kiba."

"The bachelor party remember? We all agreed to go after that rally you pulled together last night."

"Bullcrap. Sasuke told us he didn't want one and what rally?"

Kiba laughed. "The guys Naruto, you pulled us all together and pretty much made it clear we were going to a strip club. You were very persistent; I still can't believe this is actually happening."

"Sasuke's not one for strip clubs, in fact none of us are really. Plus there are no clubs in Konoha…"

"Exactly, that's why were going on a little trip. Tanzuka is only a few hours away, and that place is pretty much a party town."

"Ugh, that place is so trashy at night. Why would I do this? Why didn't you stop me!?" Kiba shrugged in response. Naruto laid back down as he sighed. "Did I really do all that?"

"This is One Hundred percent your idea." Kiba threw a duffle bag at Naruto. "So hurry up already."

Naruto groaned. "God damn it…"

"KIBA!" A woman voice yelled.

Kiba jumped at the sight of Shizune wrapped up in one of Naruto's towels. "SHIZUNE!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" he looked at Naruto.

Naruto sat there with his eyes open. _**"Oh no…"**_

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Review if you get a chance, and thanks for reading. Till chapter 4


	4. Chapter 4

**So I'm a moron, I formatted my comp and forgot to save the next 2 chapters I wrote to my external or this website…so I put this together from memory. It's short I know, but something's better than nothing.**

**I don't always have someone to read over this, so if my grammar/punctuation/spelling/whatever is off, sorry. Please Review after reading, good or bad I really like to know, so please spend a few seconds telling me what you think. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing**

Don't understand the dashes? Read the bottom AFTER finishing the story.

**Bold Italics = Thoughts/Memories/**

**Chapter 4: Short But Sweet**

"_**Come on already Naruto." ---- pleaded for the 10**__**th**__** time. "Just tell me why she was there this and I'll never ask about it again…"**_

…_**About what?…..**_

"_**Yeah, bullshi- NARUTO! LOOK OUT!" **_

…_**A little too late for that…**_

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The doctor stood over him, holding a flashlight in Naruto eye. "Just follow the light…" I obeyed without question as my eyes traveled back and fourth. "So that's all you can remember?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Naruto sighed. "My head hurts. I see so many faces and things…and yet I can't bring a name or any familiarity to them…"

The doctor smiled. "Just be glad you're alive son. That ramen cart hit you pretty hard."

"Ramen cart? Is that what hit me?"

"So your friend says." The doctor flipped through the pages on his clipboard. "I have to say you're pretty amazing kiddo. After an accident like that all you have left is a slight case of amnesia."

"WHAT!? Is it permanent?!" Naruto yelled as he shot up.

"Jesus take it easy."He slowly pushed Naruto back down into bed. "Your memory will come back to you. As for when or how much of it, is all depending on you. They'll come back, don't you worry." He began to scribble something on a piece of paper. "I talked to Master Tsunade and she suggests I prescribe you this. It's pain killers, use them when you're hurting and not for fun. You have a group of friends here and they're sending a few medics from your village to escort you back. I'm sorry to be so short but I have some other patients I must attend too, I'll make sure your friends hear of your recovery." He handed him a pill. "This is what you'll be taking from now on. Just take one of these and relax, you'll be home in no time." The doctor began to walk out.

"Hey wait a sec! I…I don't remember if I asked you this, but how long have I been out?"

"Only 2 days. Like I said, you're something else."

Naruto did as the doctor said and took the pill he was given. "So my memories will return randomly huh?" Naruto was out like a light.

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"_**We can't be lovers anymore…"**_

…_**What?....**_

"_**Being friends is going to be difficult, lets be honest…"**_

_**Not being to remember anything at all is difficult…**_

"_**I'm a whole new ---…I refuse to go back to the old me, not for you…not for anyone."**__._

…_**Just let me sleep then…I'll forget about you in the morning….**_

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_**The dashes are there because Naruto can't remember the names of his friends, so instead of leaving them out, I just blocked it out. And as long as I have Naruto forgetting, it's going to be like that.**_

_**So yeah, crappy chapter 4, if you didn't read the top, please do to get the reason. And as always please Read and Review.**_

_**`1up**_


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't always have someone to read over this, so if my grammar/punctuation/spelling/whatever is off, sorry. ****Please Review after reading****, good or bad I really like to know, so please spend a few seconds telling me what you think. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing  
**

**Bold Italics = Thoughts/Memories/**

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_**Chapter 5: The Pain of Trying To Forget.**_

_**"Would you just stop being a baby and hold still!" the blonde woman yelled as she trying to heal Naruto.**_

_**Naruto shot up from his bed in shock moment ago to find some strangle woman over him. "Who are you!?" he grabbed her wrist, holding her back from further attacking him.**_

"_**Naruto would you knock it off! I'm suppose to be healing you while Sakura is talking your doctor." The woman fought back.**_

"_**Sakura? Who the hell is that? And why is she talking to my doctor?" Naruto's head began to hurt. "This what the doctor must have meant when he said my head would hurt when I was trying to remember." He said to himself. **_

"_**Naruto I swear to god!" she yelled continuing to fight.**_

"_**Ino what are you doing!?" The pink haired woman walked in with a surprised look on her face. "I asked you to heal him, not fight him."**_

"_**WHAT! I'M NOT! HE JUST…BUT HE...UGH!" Ino wrenched her hands from his grip. "He's playing dumb with me and it's really starting to get to me."**_

"_**Ino...he…" Sakura began. **_

"_**Ino…?" His head pain worsened, but he showed no sign of pain. His memory may be gone, but his pride and instinct were still intact. He knew he had to hide it.**_

_**The doctor cleared his throat. "Maybe I should explain the situation to you too Miss. Please, come with me, I'll explain everything." Sakura nodded in agreement as the two stepped out of the room. Naruto's eyes traveled over the pink haired girl, he felt comfort in seeing her, but at this point he wasn't sure what was real. Slowly she walked toward him and pulled a chair up next to his bed. Naruto became a little nervous when she looked into his eyes and grasped his hand.**_

"_**I-I'm so glad you're alright. As soon as we got the message, Ino and I rushed here as fast as we could." Tears rolled down her face. "The doctor explained everything to me; your long term memory is damaged, while your short is fine…so I guess that means you don't remember me do you?"**_

_**Naruto shook his head. "She told me your name was Sakura…" She smiled in response, but Naruto saw the masking of the hurt he had caused by not remembering her. "I'll be honest; I don't remember you, or anyone else."He scoffed. "Hell I don't remember a single thing…but, what my head doesn't remember, my heart is trying to help sort out. I've seen plenty of people in the past twenty four hours…some just workers, others supposedly friends, I dunno. What I'm trying to say is…is that you're the first person to make me feel…normal. I think I can trust you, how much I don't know, but with that I want to know if I can trust you…because until I can remember the others, I'm gonna be looking to you for help." Sakura sniffled as leaned in and gave Naruto a hug.**_

"_**Anything you need, anything at all…I'm here for you."**_

_**Naruto smiled. "Okay then." He cleared his throated. "Then answer some questions for me." Some turned into a lot, and Sakura did her best to fill him in. Where he was from, who he was, who his friends where, and so on. Naruto took as much as he could in, and although none of it made sense to him, he felt he atleast had a base now.**_

"_**So that girl…is Ino? Why is she such a loud and abrasive girl?" Sakura let out a small laugh. "Honestly though…what is she to me?"**_

_**Sakura remained silent, "She's a friend of yours…" she went quite.**_

"_**And?"**_

"_**There's nothing else Naruto…"**_

"_**Then why does it hurt? Why was it went I woke up and saw her above me, my heart almost beat itself out of my chest, I…I couldn't breathe, it was unreal. And you want me to believe all she is to me is my friend?"**_

_**Sakura remained quiet. "Naruto…she."**_

_**The door to his room slid open, as the blonde slowly made her way in. Almost instantly Naruto saw her eyes. Puffy, red, and if he wasn't mistaken, drag marks where tear would have fallen.**_

"_**Ino?" Sakura asked.**_

"_**Let's just get ready to go." She turned toward Naruto. "In a few hours you'll be discharged and we'll be heading out." Naruto felt strange. The beautiful girl in front of him was in obvious pain…and only half of him cared. He knew now she wasn't a just a friend. "And about before Naruto…I want to say"**_

_**Naruto cut her off. "It's not a problem…"**_

_**The room went silent. The doctor yet again cleared his throat to break this brutally awkward silence. "Ladies if you wouldn't mind leaving for a bit, I have some more things I want to go over with Naruto. Besides your fiancée has been informed of your arrival, I'm sure he expecting you."**_

_**They began to walk out. "You two married?" The girls stopped and turned around.**_

_**Sakura pointed to herself. "Yeah, I mentioned it earlier."**_

_**Naruto stared at the blonde. "Ino?"**_

_**Ino stood there quietly, not sure how to respond. "No…I'm not." She walked out of the room.**_

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Feeling the rays of the sun hit his face, Naruto stirred in his bed for a few moments before heading into his bathroom. He sighed after he splashed of cold water in his face, sitting down on his toilet, annoyed and still confused, he put his head in his hands. And now, just like the days before, he had woken up at sunrise for no good reason at all. It had been four days since he had woken up and three days since he was transported back to Konoha. From there, Naruto assumed is where all this trouble had began. He was still clueless to whom everyone was, though names like Kiba and Sasuke were making some leeway, atleast Naruto thought so. Yet even with the names and the small amount of trust that followed, nothing of major importance followed. When he returned he was ordered by an older woman to have daily check ups, Naruto found it unnecessary, but before he could complain the woman began taking shots of warm sake. He still couldn't believe she was the leader of this village, and he still couldn't understand why she kept calling him a brat.

Today though, was something special. It was Hinata birthday, and she was having some sort of big party at her mansion. He remembered Sakura laughing as she told him this last night at the hospital. Something about Ino pretty much forcing Hinata to have a party while her father was away. Naruto reached for a pill as the pain began to sit in. He smiled though. He remember most of what happened yesterday, and a few bits of the days before, he knew he was making good progress. The party was later though, Naruto was due for his morning check up and he was no where near ready. Quietly he opened the door to Sakura office, and saw her and Ino talking. _**What's going on in here?**_

"I just don't think it's a good idea Ino. We're trying to help him remember his life before the accident not play with it. Besides he's only forgotten for now, it'll come back to him eventually." Sakura said as she leaned back in her chair.

Ino sighed. "I know this already…but you've seen him these past few days. He's hasn't been this happy in months." Ino sat down in front of her. "All I'm saying is that we bend the truth a little…and when he remembers, he can choose how it'll be."

_**Are they talking about me?**_

Sakura rested her hands in her palm. "Why are you doing this?"

"I want to make him happy…we screwed each other up pretty bad this past year…all the sex, the lies, the yelling and screaming…it's not healthy. This may be for the best or may blow up in my face."

"And what does Sai think of all this? Have you even told him yet? He's a member of team 7 too."

"I haven't told him. I haven't even spoken to him in weeks." The two sat in silence. "Sakura what happened to us…"

Sakura shrugged in response. "We grew up I guess. I knew one day we weren't going to be like our younger selves anymore."

_**I really wish I understood what they were talking about…**_

Naruto opened the door with a smile on his face. "Morning!"

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I feel as though my characters are a little OOC, from my own observation and a few flames, and its been really bugging me. So much to the point that it's annoying and I don't want to write this anymore. Anyway, this chapter is a little longer than the last but I wanted to get this out there. As always please review.

-1up


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't always have someone to read over this, so if my grammar/punctuation/spelling/whatever is off, sorry. ****Please Review after reading****, good or bad I really like to know, so please spend a few seconds telling me what you think. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing  
Bold Italics = Thoughts/Memories**

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Thank you guys for the reviews, I really do appreciate it!

Kiwi – As always I can count on awesome review from you! ^_^

Damned – Please don't hate Ino, lol , in fact she's one of my favorite characters and yet as I read over this I really portray her in a bad light… I'll make it better…I hope*shrug*.

ShyGuy – Short and sweet, I like it.

And Starfire – I apologies for confusing you, if you haven't read Situations you might want too, it'll explain a little more. If that's not the case then it must be because I changed writing styles. Situations I wrote a year or two ago and didn't finish it, so when I did my style had changed into 3rd person. Hopefully this helps you, but in any case, thank you reviewing.

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**Chapter 6: It Felt So Wrong… But Felt So Right…**

Naruto walked next to her silence, like they had been a few minutes ago when they left the hospital. He had no idea who she really was or what she was about, and it infuriated him that no one would give him a straight answer. _**"You guys are friends, just like you and me. Why do you ask?". **_ The only answered he believed came from Kiba. _**"You two were really close, you had a falling out and now you should be trying to be friends with her again. And would you hurry the hell up with this whole "Amnesia thing".**_Naruto smiled remembering this; he didn't have to remember Kiba to know he was a ball buster.

"What's so funny?" she asked politely.

"Nothing, just something Kiba said to me the other day."

She smiled. "I'm glad to see you're starting to remember us."

Naruto smirked. "Yeah…something like that…" the silence arose again. "So what are you in the mood for?"

"I was thinking ramen…it's your favorite." She continued to stare at the ground.

He laughed. "That's what they tell me." They shared a laugh. "I'm glad you suggested we spend some time together, I've been meaning to ask you these past couple days, but people keep popping up wanting to talk. You know…you're the only one I haven't had the chance to get to know…again."

She flashed a wink at him. "Saved the best for last I see." Was her response, Naruto blushed lightly. "We'll have that talk soon enough, but first I really want to enjoy this lunch."

Naruto became nervous. "Why?...did we usually fight when we went out?"

"No, not really. I mean there was this one time before… you helped me go shopping for my wedding dress…which was beautiful by the way…everyone loved it. You may not believe it, but you have a great sense for beautiful things."

Naruto blushed. "You're right I don't, but I feel as though I can trust you. I know this may come off awkward…but in my heart, I know that I can trust you…more than the others."

She laughed as she made her way into the ramen shop. "Shut up dummy."

The next few hours went by quickly but peacefully. Naruto lead the way as he walked out of the ramen shop with Ino trailing behind.

"We'll its good to see you didn't lose ability to eaten an ungodly amount of ramen…" Ino said as she put away her now empty wallet.

"I guess so!" he patted his stomach as he continued to walk. "So what do you wanna do now?"

"I have to go to work. I'm covering for my mom today so she can cover my shift tomorrow." She flashed her gorgeous smile. "I'm gonna have fun tonight."

"Hinata's party…I almost forgot about that." He responded.

"You're coming along right?"

"Oh, um I think so…I dunno just yet."

"Oh, you're coming along! You better be ready Uzumaki!"

She was being so cute, Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey! What's so funny?" she pouted.

"You. You're like a completely different person. Don't get me wrong, I like it, but the first time I met you I was being held down, and you were yelling at me."

"Well, you're very good at making me mad at you." She punched him lightly in the shoulder. "I'm going now. Remember, I'll be seeing you at 6." She ran off, Naruto stood there smiling until she was just another face in the crowd. Naruto made his way home, he was going out tonight.

Six o'clock rolled around and Naruto found himself lounging on his couch. He had been ready to leave for a few hours now, he couldn't understand why he was so excited to go tonight. All she was doing was taking him to the party, nothing more…right? Despite the real reason, whatever it may have been, it didn't stop Naruto from fantasizing. She plagued his mind and he loved every second of it. Hearing a knocking at the door he dashed over to it to see her standing there standing in a pair of jeans and a purple shirt. Naruto's instincts ran wild, she was only in casual clothes, but god damn did they fit her right!

"Okay, relax already pervert." She teased as Naruto snapped too. Was he staring her that much without even noticing it?

"I – uh… you look great!" he kicked himself on the inside. What a jackass comment.

She laughed. "Did you even change? Go put on something else."

"Hey, I've been ready for sometime now…plus I like this look." He responded.

"Fine, fine. Let's go." She began to walk away. Naruto quickly grabbed her and spun her around, pulling her into his arms.

"I was serious when I said you looked good" she sat there like a deer in headlights. "I guess you were right…I'm just good at picking beautiful things." And before she could react he had placed his lips on hers. Naruto could feel a slight resistance at first, but only at first, soon she was practically taking him over. Suddenly she pulled away.

She took a few steps back and began to ramble. "NONONONONO. No, we…I…look Naruto! You can't just go around doing things like that! God you're such a jerk!" she pushed him into the wall.

Naruto was a taken back, confused more than anything else though. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to take it this fast…I was just caught up in the moment." She began to walk away without him. "Look I'm sorry! Really I am! Please don't go!" Naruto's head began to hurt as soon as he finished the last part of his sentence. "AHHH!" he grabbed his head as he curled up into a ball. This was worst of these "pains" he had experienced yet. Ino came running over.

"Naruto! You okay?!" she was panicking. "Don't move! Do you need a doctor? Wait, I can do it! Sakura taught me a few things -"

"I'm fine…" He interrupted as he began to take deep breathes. "My pills are on the kitchen counter, grab them please. " He pointed to his apartment. As she ran in Naruto began to yell to himself. _**"I remember now!…she left me that day…cold, alone, annoyed...but that's it. Why can't I remember more!?... God damn it!"**_ Ino was back in an instant with his pills. Naruto hungrily ate two of his pills. The two sat in silence as Naruto recovered.

"Naruto, are these the pains the doctor was talking about? Do you remember anything?

"Something like that, except I…I don't remember anything." He couldn't let her know he remembered that painful moment in time. "I'm fine Ino…"

"Sure…but listen to me for a sec…about that kiss…"

"Don't worry, I get it, it never happened… lets just go. I just…" He looked deep in her eyes and saw just as much confusion as he was feeling. "I just need a drink is all."

She playfully punched his arm. "T-that's what got you into this whole mess." It was obvious that she was trying to lighten the mood, as it was also apparent that she wasn't so sure of her last words. Naruto put on his best fake smile.

"Yeah, Ha-ha." He laughed. "Can we go already slow poke?"

She gave a faint smile and walked away. "_**And she fell for it"**_…

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Short and as always late. I'm almost positive I'm going to start doing short chapters, just so I can get something out faster. Anyway hope you still like it and if you could be so kind as to review, that would honestly make my day, no joke.

~1up


	7. Chapter 7

**Added some lyrics to this chapter, for reason to me it fits nicely. I don't really like doing songfics, but it is what it is I guess. Let me know what you think.**

**I don't always have someone to read over this, so if my grammar/punctuation/spelling/whatever is off, sorry. ****Please Review after reading****, good or bad I really like to know, so please spend a few seconds telling me what you think. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Tear Me Apart by She Wants Revenge.  
Bold Italics = Thoughts/Memories**

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**Chapter 7: She loves me, She loves me not.**

_**Naruto couldn't think straight, too much was happening around him and the alcohol wasn't helping. He spent the past few hours dodging Ino, after what happened back at his apartment he wasn't sure what to do. He had enough, this was pointless…he was tired of running. He found her in the corner of the room with some guys he had never seen before. He clenched his fist as he walked up to her.**_

"_**Ino! I need to talk to you!" He tried to yell over the music.**_

"_**What? I can't hear you!" she continued to dance with her drink in hand. **_

"_**Come with me for a sec!" He yelled in her ear. She followed him upstairs and into what seemed to be, one of the many, guest bedrooms. He was glad she wanted to leave the party to talk, it **__**was too noisy, there were too many people around and Naruto wanted this to be private. He brought her here for one simple reason. He wanted to know why. Why did they lie to him? He couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that all of his friends would just outright lie to him about this. Naruto couldn't help but notice the song playing in the background, he felt like it was being played from his mind, for everyone…and her to hear. Sadly he felt as if it was giving him confidence.**_

_~Got a big plan, his mind's set, maybe it's right  
At the right place and right time, maybe tonight  
In a whisper or handshake sending a sign  
Wanna make out and kiss hard, wait never mind_

_Late night, in passing, mention it flip to her  
Best friend, it's no thing, maybe it slipped  
but the slip turns to terror and a crush to like  
when she walked in he froze up, leave it to fright"_

_It's cute in a way, till you cannot speak  
And you leave to have a cigarette, knees get weak  
escape was just a nod and a casual wave  
Obsess about it, heavy for the next two days_

"_**Why did you and everyone else lie about us? I don't remember everything, and maybe that's a good thing, but I was going to remember at some point. I don't get it…why not just tell me…" **_

_It's only just a crush, it'll go away  
It's just like all the others it'll go away  
Or maybe this is danger and you just don't know  
You pray it all away but it continues to grow_

_I want to hold you close  
Skin pressed against me tight  
Lie still, and close your eyes girl  
So lovely, it feels so right_

"_**I remember all those feelings…and I know you do too…"**_

_I want to hold you close  
Soft breath, beating heart  
As I whisper in your ear  
I want to fucking tear you apart_

_Then he walked up and told her, thinking maybe it'd pass  
And they talked and looked away a lot, doing the dance  
Her hand brushed up against his, she left it there  
Told him how she felt and then they locked in a stare"_

_They took a step back, thought about it, what should they do  
Cause there's always repercussions when you're dating in school  
But their lips met, and reservations started to pass  
Whether this was just an evening or a thing that would last_

_**Ino walked up and pushed Naruto up against the wall. "You really want to know why…" she asked. Naruto nodded, she began to kiss him. **_

_Either way he wanted her and this was bad  
Wanted to do things to her it was making him crazy  
Now a little crush turned into a like  
And now he wants to grab her by the hair and tell her_

_I want to hold you close  
Skin pressed against me tight  
Lie still, and close your eyes girl  
So lovely, it feels so right_

_I want to hold you close  
Soft breath, beating heart  
As I whisper in your ear  
I wanna fucking tear you apart~_

_**Naruto's mind ran wild as she slowly slid her shirt off above her head. He knew he shouldn't have drank anything, especially what Kiba was feeding him. But it didn't matter now, any and all questions he had, were thrown out as soon as she made contact. She pulled him in for a final kiss before pushing him onto the bed.**_

"_**Still wanna remember?" she asked.**_

_**Naruto grinned in response. She smiled as she walked over the door and locked it, and soon the lights followed.**_

Naruto slowly took a sip from his cup of coffee as he sat in back patio with Kiba, Chouji and Shikamaru. It was early in the morning, and none of them could explain how or why they were up this early. Naruto slowly leaned in and slugged Kiba in the arm.

"What the hell was that for!?" he exclaimed.

"For making me drink that shit last night…" Naruto replied. "So… I started to remember some things." The boys gave a light cheer. "I wanna talk about something first…namely Ino."

Kiba and Chouji laughed, Shikamaru sighed as he pulled out a cigarette. "The first thing you remember has to be the most troublesome memory…" Naruto snagged the freshly lit cigarette out of his hands. "Since when?" he asked.

Naruto smiled. "During my travels…We all have our little secrets. Besides it's nothing to be worried about."

"Mmhmm." Replied Shikamaru. "Continue already."

"First off I wanna say I don't remember everything...but it all started yesterday..." Naruto went on smoking the cigarette and recapping everything that happened yesterday, not leaving out a single detail."I don't have to remember the conversations to know I've asked you guys this before...but what I am going do?" The guys sat in silence not really knowing what to say. Naruto laughed from the awkward silence.

"Tell her you love her." Chouji said, killing the silence. The other three froze up in surprise. "Seriously. Whether you remember or not, you've done nothing but say "Sorry"."

"Chouji…" Shikamaru sighed. "When did our lives turn into a romance novel?"

"Yeah, but what about Sai? Hinata has said some things but nothings been set in stone yet. Anything you wanna share Shikamaru?" Kiba grabbed the smoke from Naruto. He waved his hand around to silence them before they could ask. "Blah, blah, secrets blah."

"From what I hear, Sai wanted to have a family and Ino to settle down. Ino of course, being as proud as she is, freaked out and protested. This went on for a few days and she finally just called the marriage off out of anger, of course, but he didn't leave for that reason alone. There's a power struggle going on in ROOT, even as we speak, and he had to return. So whether they are actually divorced is still unknown, though her sleeping with you does raise some questions. Chouji has it right, if you love her then lay it on the line and tell her. The smart move would be to research it a bit and then tell her, but knowing you…well…" They laughed as Naruto grumbled to himself as he slowly stood up and wiped the ground crap off of his clothes.

"Good luck." Was the last thing he heard before he began to head to Ino, he had made up his mind, he was going to tell her. Naruto walked up to her room quietly as to not wake anyone else up in the house, when he heard sobs coming from behind the door.

"I…I don't what happened! We were talking; he's telling me he remembers things I said to him and the next thing I know I'm on top of him. I love him Sakura…I truly do…but with everything that going on…and Sai! Oh god Sai…I can't do it…I just can't do it."

"I can't believe you Ino…this is going to kill him, you know this," Sakura responded sternly.

"I know…"

"God damn it!" Sakura yelled. "I'm seriously sick of dealing with this. I'm sorry to say, but enough already. You need to pull yourself together and figure out exactly what you want." Ino cries became muffled. She must have been crying on Sakura. A hand was carefully placed on his shoulder. Naruto turned around to see Sasuke.

"We have to talk." He whispered.

Naruto frowned as he shook his head, but followed him regardless.

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Maybe it's because I'm writing this, but I feel like this is wearing thin and getting worse, or even that I'm repeating already said things. My head really starts to hurt and honestly keeps me from writing more often…I really need to have someone to read this over. Either way thanks for still reading, while I have a mental breakdown. ^_^


	8. Chapter 8

**I don't always have someone to read over this, so if my grammar/punctuation/spelling/whatever is off, sorry. ****Please Review after reading****, good or bad I really like to know, so please spend a few seconds telling me what you think. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing with Naruto **

**Bold Italics = Thoughts/Memories**

~ = **The start of a new memory.**

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**Chapter 8 : I Guess…This Is Goodbye Then?**

He wasn't sure which was harder to take; Ino was still in love with Sai or the fact that last night was practically a pity fuck. This merry-go-round of life felt more like a circle jerk and Naruto wanted off. Now.

"Are you even listening to me dummy?" Sasuke asked. Naruto wasn't sure where exactly in the Hyuuga household he was, but he was sure he was no where near Ino, and he was happy for that.

"Yes…No." he waved his hand around carelessly. "What's so important anyhow?"

Sasuke scoffed. "God forbid we talk about something other than Ino…" you could taste the sarcasm." I'm talking about the wedding."

"Oh." Naruto plopped onto the bed. "It's in two days right? You ready for the big day?"

Sasuke sat down by the window. "I've had more stressful days."

"I can account for some of those." He laughed.

"Sai's coming back for tomorrow…you know where I'm going with this…"

"Hmph…" Naruto rolled onto his side, giving Sasuke his back. "I know what you're gonna say…"

"And?"

"Yeah I get it…she's married, and I'm only hurting her. Right?"

Sasuke grinned. "Well now, aren't we Mister mature now?"

Naruto glared at him and gave him the finger. "You know where I'm going with this…"

"Let her make the decision, it'll never work out if Sai and you try and force her to do what you want. Infact she'll freak out, no surprise there." Naruto got up and began to leave the room. "Please, try and listen to what I'm trying to say to you."

"Yeah, yeah…" he said as he made his way out. As Naruto made his way through the maze of a household, he began to remember more and more of his past….

------

_**~~~ She moved form the window to my bed. "So why did you do it?"**_

"_**I don't know…seemed like the right thing to do, at the time that is. We had sex a lot and I felt like we were more than just sex friends, I never told you how I felt before because I was afraid, I really enjoyed the sex but more being with you…I didn't want that too end. I figured the way things were going we would fall into a relationship but it didn't turn out like that and I saw you less and less, lowering my chances to tell you. I wanted to tell you while we went dress shopping, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, so the wedding day finally came around and I felt as if I had no other opinions left and I…" I sat down next to her. "Was I wrong? Were the feelings I felt a one sided thing?"**_

_**~~~ "I'm going away Ino, I have to find myself and I'm sure the answers I need are somewhere out there. You can hate me after for this but…I want to say goodbye my way" I kissed her…**_

_"__**I'm going to be Hokage one day…so don't forget about me…"**_

-------

Without knocking Naruto walked into Ino's room and found her sitting by herself. She looked so beautiful as she sat on the large windowsill. She turned toward Naruto and grinned…they knew they need to have "that" talk.

"Ino…I…" he started.

"Look Naruto…" she interrupted.

"We can't see each other anymore…" they said in unison. The room went quiet as they stared at each other. Naruto was more shock than sad and at this point he couldn't believe they said it at the same time. Naruto walked over as they embraced each other. He could feel her slightly tremble in his arms…Naruto had to bit his lip, he felt the flood build up…he couldn't do that…not in front of her…not now.

"Guess we can't argue if we both agree…"

"It wouldn't have ever worked out…"

"We're too alike…"

"We gave it a fair shot…I guess."

"If we want to remain friends we have to stop…"

"Can't imagine what we've put our friends through…"

"Can't Imagine what we've put Sai through…we have to talk to him…"

Naruto slowly leaned in and kissed her on the lips. This was goodbye all over again, he knew it, she knew it…

He pulled away and smiled."This is goodbye…again"

She secured his wrist in a death grip. "You're not leaving again… are you?"

He laughed. "Only to go downstairs…I'm not going anywhere this time." He planted s light kiss on her forehead.

She let go off his hand. "I'm trusting you…"

He smiled as he walked out of the room, but the smile went away the second he was out the door, he felt like scum for lying like that. It wasn't exactly the best of choices, and he was one to always choose wrong, so he'd rather be the scumbag than the guy crying. He quietly walked down and around through the house, out the front door, and made a dash for his house. He didn't want to everyone to see the tears in his eyes. Nearly breaking his front door, he walked around and locked all the entrances to his house. Locking the door, he slid down it as he began to bawl…his heart was flooding. It was over…this whole year had been for nothing. Naruto was never one to except a loss, especially when it involved his heart. She was gone…no longer his lover…or the love of his life…the fire had died out…along with the brave front he so desperately kept up…his cries echoed through his empty apartment…Finally when he stopped crying, and the silence was too much he laid down on his couch…

A loud bang on his door had awoken him from his sleep. Not fully awake, Naruto lifted himself and walked over to his door. How long had he been out for? Clearing his throat he opened it up to see Sakura standing in front of him.

"Jeez, I've been knocking on your door for past two minutes. What were you doing?" she asked as she put her hands on her hips.

"I…I was sleeping…sorry, come in." he walked away, heading back to the couch.

"We've been looking for you… all day…were you crying?"

"No."

"You've got red streaks on your cheeks…your eyes are also a little puffy…plus your-"

"Look I said I wasn't, so just drop it!" he yelled. He sat down and put his head in his hands. "I'm sorry for yelling." The room went silent; he knew there was no point in hiding it from her. "I know you know everything…so just say it already."

"Sasuke told me of the talk you two had earlier today…he also mentioned that when he found you…you were standing outside of Ino's room…"

"And?"

Sakura forced herself to go on. "Now you know how she really feels…"

"So what was I too her?" Sakura responded with a shoulder shrug. "No, honestly."

"I don't know."

"Sakura this isn't a game."

"I'm not playing around Naruto, I just don't know! I don't know how many times we've gone over this. Hell I couldn't even keep count of the number of times Ino and you went over it. Do you just instinctively lie to each and just not realize it!?"

He laughed. "From an outside look…I guess so."

She sat down next to him and pulled his limp body into hers. "Come by for dinner tonight…it'll just be us, I promise."

"Yeah, that sounds fine. I want to talk about tomorrow anyhow."

"Alright, I'll see you later. Come around five, Sasuke should be home then." She embraced him and then left.

The sounds of the door shutting made his body flinch. He couldn't be in here anymore, he had to get out…get away from it all, even for a little bit.

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And that's chapter 8, sadly it's almost over. I'm thinking 1 more chapter…I dunno. Thanks for reading.


	9. Chapter 9

Well its the final chapter. Its been a long road but it was worth getting this done. ^_^

**I don't always have someone to read over this, so if my grammar/punctuation/spelling/whatever is off, sorry. ****Please Review after reading****, good or bad I really like to know, so please spend a few seconds telling me what you think. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing with Naruto **

**Bold Italics = Thoughts/Memories**

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**Chapter 9: Then and Now.**

_The church erupted with cries of happiness and joy as the couples lips met. Naruto quickly wiped the tear that began to emerge. Everyone followed as the newly weds ran from the church and into a carriage. Before they pulled away Sasuke turned toward him and mouthed 3 simple words. Talk. To. Her. _

"_I wonder what that's supposed to mean." she said sarcastically behind him._

"_Ino, you scared me."_

"_So what did he mean?"_

"_He? Who?"_

"_Sasuke."_

"_Sasuke? Why, what did he say?"_

"_Naruto…stop." She wasn't buying it._

_He sighed as he grabbed her hand. "Come with me." He led her through the crowd and back into the church. "What he meant was pretty obvious. To be honest though there isn't much to talk about…_

"_You sure about that Naruto? I think what we decided was a good thing, but I just want things to get better…I wanna be happy again."_

"_As do I. This is why I'm saying I'll be fine on my own for a bit… and you can be happy with Sai"_

"_Yeah…"_

_Naruto stood up and stretched out. "I'm off…see you around."_

"_You're not coming to the reception?"_

"_I have to go visit my doctor for a check up."_

"_But why not see Tsunade tomorrow?"_

"_I…I don't know." He shrugged. "I want too…"_

---

Months had passed since Sakura and Sasukes wedding and his last intimate moment with Ino. To his own surprise he didn't run away, or tuck away like a hermit but interacted far more than he had in the past years. That's not to say he didn't "avoid" Ino, he hated how he used that word but it was sorta true. He saw her very rarely and never really got into meaningful conversations with her. Since then things with everyone were getting serious, except for Ino. Soon after the wedding Sai and Ino broke off their wedding and remained friends. Though the reason for why they did it varied, Naruto felt he was a deciding factor. But it was what it was and everything was going smoothly, especially because his memory had fully come back to him.

Naruto smiled as he pushed away his second empty bowl of ramen away. It was 9am and Naruto was waiting for his mission partner to arrive. He had argued endlessly with Tsunade to just let him venture out alone, but she wouldn't hear any of it. "We're finding you a partner as we speak. You are not going out alone Naruto!".

He laughed, she was so damn stubborn. "One more bowl please!" he yelled. The old man smiled as he nodded.

"So where you headed off to this time Naruto?" the old man asked.

"Back to Tanzuka, they want to me a have a check up with my doctor over there and to help him out with something. Tsunade never really specified but I don't really mind."

"All by yourself again?"

"Not this time, I'm actually waiting for them to arrive."

The old man clapped his hands together. "Alright!" he exclaimed, "I'm going to make you a special ramen before your partner arrives." He began to work.

"Naruto smiled. "Can't wait."

"Neither can I, can you make that two please?." She said as she sat down next to him.

"I thought you hated ramen?" he said. There was no mistake in who it was...but he choose to keep his eyes locked on the old man.

"I told you…I started to enjoy it."

He chuckled. "Fair enough…So…how have you been?"

"Alright, I'm practically running the flower shop."

"I see." Two bowls of ramen were placed in front of him. "So what are you doing here?"

"I'm your partner dummy."

He chuckled. "Okay then."

"To be honest, I fought with Tsunade and Sakura over this…but now that I'm here I'm glad. I feel like I haven't seen or talked to you in forever…you've been like a ghost…I've missed you…" Ino picked at her ramen.

"We saw each other…a little."Naruto hesitated for moment. "But I…I miss seeing you too."

"You hesitated…" She pointed out.

"Ino... you know what my feelings are. I hesitated because…I didn't want to say the wrong thing."

"Like what?"

Naruto stood up for the counter. "Nevermind. This is a bad idea."

"Naruto Uzumaki! Stop running away!" she yelled.

"I didn't want to say I missed being with you! Because it kills me inside that I haven't seen you in so long! In fact, when I heard you and Sai had split, I had to force myself to sit there and not run over and kiss you all over!!" The ramen shop froze, as did a few people passing in the street. Naruto stood there with an embarrassed look on his face. Ino laughed. "I…umm…" He chuckled nervously.

Ino ran up and kissed him passionately. "I've missed you too."

Naruto smiled. "Lets do things right this time."

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So that's it…for now atleast. To be honest I'm running on empty right now, this ending is proof of that. I figured it would best to end it now and not kill it anymore by dragging out like I want to. But thank you all again for reading and reviewing, especially with my long update times. So be on the look out for my name in the near future, I'm sure I'll have something out with better updates (I promise!!!). If you liked any of my stories add me to your favorites and it'll let you know when I do. ^_^

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